


Making Plans

by Megara Bee (Megara_Bee)



Series: Doubts Universe [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Moe ain't so happy, Tooth Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-05-27
Packaged: 2018-04-01 13:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4020937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megara_Bee/pseuds/Megara%20Bee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anon prompt: reactions of the townspeople, right after the curse breaks, a little later, maybe Moe's reaction?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making Plans

Belle took a deep breath. Rumple squeezed her hand.

“Ready, love?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She took another deep breath and pushed the doorbell.

A deep voice hollered “Coming!” and they heard heavy footsteps approaching the door. Moe opened it, face blanching as he looked at the two people in front of him.

“Hullo,” Belle offered weakly.

“You…” Moe said, looking them over, his gaze lingering on Rumplestiltskin. “You come to evict me?”

“No, Papa, of course not!” Belle stepped forward, letting go of Gold’s hand and reaching for the big man in front of her. Moe flinched, but didn’t move.

“Why else would you be here? It’s been weeks since the curse broke. Besides… I hear you have a new father now.” The disgust in his voice was palpable.

Rumple snarled, but Belle’s hand on his chest stopped him.

“I didn’t come here to get the same vitriol from you that I can get anywhere else in this town. I came to make amends.” She held out her hand; Rumple reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. He gave it to Belle, and she in turn handed it to Moe. “Take this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s the deed to the building, and a signed waiver releasing you of your debt.”

“I don’t need your charity.”

“I see you’re as stubborn as ever. I don’t care if you want it or not. It’s yours. I don’t need your approval or your condescension, Papa,” Belle said, crossing her arms and staring him down. “If you ever want to get off your high horse, you’ll know where to find me.” She turned to go, grabbing Rumple’s hand to drag him away.

“I never should have let you go with that monster. He’s corrupted you, turned you into some… some kind of whore!”

Belle had to hold Rumple back.

“You might not have rotten teeth anymore, Gold, but you’re still a pervert!”

“Stop it!” Belle shouted, face flushing with rage. “Don’t you dare! I love him, Papa. He cares for me, and he was a great father. Obviously I made a mistake thinking you could change. Goodbye, Papa. Maybe forever.”

Rumple wrapped his arm around her waist and guided a trembling Belle down the stairs and onto the street. He walked her into the alley between buildings. Belle stepped out of his embrace and began to pace, hands clasped and shaking.

“I can’t believe… the nerve!”

“It’s alright, sweetheart.”

“No, it isn’t! He has no right, no right!”

“Yes he does.”

Belle stopped, turning towards Rumple. “What?”

“He has every right to worry about you. In his mind, he’s your father and I’m the man who stole you away,” he said, clutching a hand to his chest. “He doesn’t have our memories, our feelings. He can’t possibly know that I’ve been in love with you since practically the first moment I saw you, when you volunteered to come with me. He can’t know the guilt and shame that we endured under the curse, or the ardor that beats for you in my heart. He’s worried, Belle. He’s angry, and he’s scared, and he’s worried. I understand that better than most people, I think.”

Belle sighed, dropping her arms and letting the tension slip from her body. “Oh Rumple.” She rubbed her face, walking towards the man she loved. Even in four inch heels, she was shorter than him. When she reached his chest, his arms wrapped around her in a bear hug. Belle took a few deep breaths.

“How are you doing in your quest?”

“Still no luck with the potion. I think I’m getting closer. There’s a lot to learn about the town line. Curses don’t come with instruction manuals, you know.”

Belle chuckled despite herself. Gold cupped her chin, tilting her head up and stealing a gentle kiss. Well, she kissed him back, so it wasn’t really theft.

“Was it really that fast?”

“Was what… wait, what?”

“Loving me… was it really that early? I mean, you didn’t even know me.”

“I knew you were brave. And beautiful. And smart. And the more time we spent together, as I tormented you endlessly and you met me time and time again with kindness, and with softness… But with spine! I got to know you, and there is not a single piece of you that I don’t love endlessly.”

Belle shifted. “I just… Now I feel bad. It took me so much longer!”

“I know.”

“That doesn’t make you sad?”

“Not really. I’m a difficult man to love.”

Belle sighed, and stroked his cheek. “It’s not that. It was… It was hard for me, being separated from everything I knew and everyone I cared for. I had to adjust. I had to learn to tell when you were joking and when you were serious, and I had to learn that sometimes you get angry when you feel vulnerable. It was like writing a bloody Rosetta stone! But once I got to know you, really know you… it was all I could do not to drown in my love… The only thing I don’t understand is, if you loved me, why didn’t you ever flirt back?”

“…What? What flirting?”

“Oh, Rumple,” Belle kissed him softly. “I flirted with you. I wore lipstick. I _made_ lipstick.”

“I guess I always told myself that you hated me, had to hate me, wanted to kill me, would be the death of me… A mantra of sorts.”

“I might be the death of you yet,” she whispered smugly, reaching up for another kiss.

“Aye, you might.” They shared a few long kisses in the alleyway, holding onto each other tightly. Finally they parted, his fingers lingering on her hips. “Marry me, Belle.”

Her eyebrows jumped and her lips parted in surprise. Now it was her turn to say “What?”

“Are you going to make me get down on one knee? An old cripple?”

“No, no… I mean yes! Oh Gods, ask me again! I fucked it up!”

Rumple laughed. “Will you, Belle Gold, marry me, and not change your name at all, because we were cursed and went through some weird shit that fucked us up sexually?”

Belle laughed, leaning on him for support. “Yes, yes! Yes I will marry you, Rumplestiltskin, AKA Mr. Gold, AKA The Dark One!”

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, between fits of giggles. “We make quite the pair, don’t we?”

“The town certainly thinks so.”

“Oh Gods, they’re going to have a fit when they find out.”

“We don’t have to invite them, do we? I’d hate that. I want it to be just us.”

“No, of course, we don’t have to invite them... I think I would like a ring, though,” she said, biting her lower lip playfully.

“Oh, right, about that,” he said, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out a little black box, and Belle’s hands flew to her mouth.

“I’ve had this for a while now. It’s not fancy, or new… but you love me, and I’m over three hundred. I didn’t think you’d mind an antique ring.” He opened the box to reveal a small golden ring, shaped like a rose with a pearl at its center.

“Oh Rumple… oh it’s gorgeous!”

He pulled out the ring and slid it onto her shaking finger. As soon as she could she grabbed him tightly, kissing him with all her might.

“I love you, I love you, I love you, you amazing man!”

“I love you too, Belle. Even if you kill me.”

They kissed for a few more minutes, before they had to part once more. Hand in hand, they walked back to the car, and went home happier than before.


End file.
